Leslie Charteris Biography and List of Works

American mystery-adventure writer, born in Singapore. Charteris is best-known for his highly popular " The Saint" stories, depicting adventures of Simon Templar, hero outside the law, who preyed criminals and con artist that the law could not or would not touch. First screen adaptation was made in 1938, tv series started 1963 with Roger Moore as the Saint. Simon Templar's retun in big screen was seen in 1997, this time Val Klimer in the title role.

"It is truly said that adventures are to the adventurous. Simon had about him that indefinable atmosphere of romance and adventurousness which is given to some favoured men in every age, and it attracted adventure as inevitably as a magnet attracts iron filings."
(from Enter the Saint, 1930)

Leslie Charteris was born Leslie Charles Bowyer Yin. His father was Dr. S.C. Yin and mother Florence Bowyer. He learned Chinese and Malay from native servants before he could speak English. Charteris was educated at private schools and run eagerly school magazines. At the age of seventeen Charteris sold his first fiction story. He attended the Cambridge University, where he studied law. After the success of his first books, X ESQUIRE (1927) and Simon Templar story, MEET THE TIGER (1927), the young author dropped his studies, and changed his name to Leslie Charteris. Experiments with other detective-protagonist were not fruitful, and he brought back the Saint in his sixth book, ENTER THE SAINT (1930). "We Saints are normally souls of peace and goodwill towards men. But we don't like crooks, bloodsuckers, traders in vice and damnation..."

Despite the Saint's growing popularity in Great Britain, Charteris' income was meagre. He worked at odd jobs in England, France and Malaya until 1935. He wrote syndicated comic strip Secret Agent X-9 in the mid-1930s, and Saint from 1945 to 1955. In the 1930s Charteris moved to the United States and worked for many years as a Hollywood scriptwriter. THE SAINT IN NEW YORK (1935) became a worldwide sensation, making its author an international celebrity. The film adaptation of the book was made in 1938, starring Louis Hayward, who was replaced by George Sanders in the second film.

The 1940s saw Simon Templar in several versions, interpretations, and adaptations at the same time - books, movies, comic books, newspaper strip, and radio. In 1942 Charteris became an US citizen. World War II created a new Saint, sardonic, and more mature. With his marriage with the movie beauty Audrey Long and focusing on short stories, Charteris wrote tales that played upon the Saint's self-referential history. A new Simon Temlar novel, VENDETTA FOR THE SAINT, co-written by Harry Harrison, appeared in 1964. TV series, which started in 1963, did not first impress Charteris, but when the shows improved, the author started to change his attitude.

From 1947 to 1948 Charteris was edited Suspense Magazine, and The Saint Detective Magazine (later The Saint Mystery Magazine) from 1953 to 1967. He also wrote for Gourmet Magazine (1966-968, published a Spanish grammar book, and as a devoted fan of bull-fighting translated Juan Belmonte's Autobiography of a Matador. After his retirement in the 1970s Charteris lived in England and France. He was married four times. Charteris died on April 16, 1993.

As a world traveller in luxury surroundings with a new hotel, a new heroine, and a new adventure,The Saint preceded Ian Fleming's James Bond, but as an outlaw The Saint was a relative of Robin Hood, Maurice Leblanc's gentleman thief Arsène Lupin, or Mickey Spillane' fascist Mike Hammer. Generally The Saint was carefree and full of humor, but in THE SAINT IN NEW YORK (1935) Charteris presented more hard-edged side of his personality, when he is basically hired an assassin to kill mobsters who killed a millionaire's son. Many critics consider The Saint's pre-war adventure books more stylish than the hero's later appearances in movies, television, radio, and comic books. Charteris' first credited collaborator was Fleming Lee, others succeeding him were Peter Bloxsom, Graham Weaver, and Christopher Short. Following Charteris's death his estate authorized Burl Barer to write new Saint adventures. CAPTURE THE SAINT (1997) was well received by the critics.

For further reading: The Saint and Leslie Charteris by W.O.G. Lofts and Derek Adley (1971); The Durable Desperadoes by William Vivian Butler (1973); The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, and Television of Leslie Charteris' Robin Hood of Modern Crime, Simon Templar by Burl Barer (1992); World Authors 1900-1950 (vol. 1), ed. by Martin Seymour-Smith and Andrew C. Kimmens (1996); The Saint by Paul Simper (1997).

Film scripts:

X ESQUIRE, (1927)
MIDNIGHT CLUB, (1933)